Quote:
Originally Posted by JackMcCornack
That's fair, it was competing with its peers of 1954, but I think the principles of automobile aerodynamic drag reduction were well understood by then. I was being a smart alec with my "I have my Hucho and Bristol didn't" remark, and though Bristol had only been in the car biz a few years, and though it was an era when the practical lessons of 50 years of aerodynamic experience could be boiled down to two semesters, the Bristol 450 Coupe had some interesting innovations. The fins, which were assumed to be stabilizers, were more likely (IMHO) there to reduce vortexes spilling over the sides and into the wake of the roof section--that's what they look like to me here in 2009
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Bristol were indeed "in the car biz only a few years" by 1954. The company began in 1910 building aircraft , but they were in business for many years prior, and cars were a post WW II exercise to use factory capacity previously needed for war production.
The "fins" on the 450 served to move the centre of aerodynamic pressure rearward and also to act as stabilisers and reduce vortexes generated.
L J K Setright wrote a detailed article on this vehicle which is well worth a read for anyone interested. It was written with the help of the makers.
Pete.